99% of People on Earth Will Experience Sunlight Simultaneously This Coming Weekend

Sunlight will be experienced across Earth simultaneously this coming weekend. The global sunlight phenomenon can be seen by almost 8 billion people on the planet on Saturday, July 8, according to reports. Although remarkable, this is not the first time that such a phenomenon will occur. Previous related events have been reported at this time of the year.

Global Sunlight Phenomenon

(Photo : Image by Jorge Guillen from Pixabay)

The upcoming 'sunlight event' will occur at a particular point on Saturday, where approximately 7.9 billion people worldwide, including North America, South America, Asia, Europe, and Africa can observe a bright sky at 7:15 a.m. EDT (local time), according to AccuWeather.

Meanwhile, the remainder of people on the globe will still experience their usual nighttime hours, including those living in Australia, New Zealand, and island countries across the Pacific Ocean, the AccuWeather report says.

Also Read: Natural Sunlight Could Increase the Toxicity of Oil Spills to Wildlife

60-Day Window

The global sunlight phenomenon is based on the estimation where a "60-day window" allows 99% of the world's population from May 18 to July 17, where a period of brightness will take place in short intervals each day, according to the sun data of timeanddate.com.

The website Earth Sky also confirmed claims of the event last year that about 99% of the global population has been receiving at least small amounts sunlight at 11:15 UTC on July 8 each year. The phenomenon can also occur at different dates within the said 60-day window.

Day and Night Science

In an astronomical perspective, we all know that Earth, as an 'imperfect spherical planet,' rotates on its own orbit and axis relative to the Sun in our Solar System. While other of our neighboring planets have different speed of rotation, science have told us that it takes 24 hours for Earth to make a complete rotation. During this period, some parts of the world experience both daylight and dark hours.

Yet, not all parts of our planet always the same amount of sunlight. For instance, areas in the polar regions are cold since the number of solar rays they receive are lesser compared to places along the tropical and subtropical regions of Earth.

In its fundamental sense, the Arctic (North Pole) region and the Antarctic (South Pole) have very cold weather since they get little amount of direct sunlight, according to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). There is a time of the year such as winter where these regions where the Sun does not rise for several months, NASA adds.

Importance of Sunlight

When it comes to nature, receiving sunlight, with the right amount and exposure, is beneficial rather than harmful for animals and plants, where the latter need it primarily for the purpose of photosynthesis. For humans, sunlight is also important since it gives our body an abundant supply of vitamin D.

In today's time, sunlight is also used to harness solar power and empower the solar energy industry as a source of renewable energy.